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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. >> i am in london. here are the headlines. >> the chinese village in challenging communist rule, 20,000 stand firm in their protests against corruption. a farewell to arms, the u.s. marked the end of nine years of military operations in iraq. the head of france says the u.k. should be the first line for a credit rating downgrade. moscow surprises the west by circulating its own draft resolution at the united nations. >> it is 10:00 a.m. in singapore. >> it is 2:00 a.m. in london, broadcasting to viewers in the u.s. and i around the world, this is newsday.

♪ >> the communist party of china has lost control of a village in southern china. what started as a protest against corrupt officials selling farm land has ended in a small fishing village in open revolt. the last of the party officials fled on monday as thousands of people have blocked police from retaking the village. standing firm against tear gas and water cannons. here is our report from the village. >> this is what a rebellion looks like in china. they are locked in a bitter land dispute with authorities. but instead of being silenced, they have chosen to stand and fight.

[chanting] >> party officials have fled and authorities have lost control of the village. but in china, such open defiance can be deadly. this video shows a brutal police crackdown in the village last week. if there are thousands of incidences of social unrest in china every month. often, when local officials confiscate the land to sell it to developers. >> but these disputes erode support for the communist party. one villager was negotiating with authorities to end the dispute. but he died in police custody earlier this week. his family are preparing to bury him tomorrow. but his daughter is struggling to cope. she said the authorities have yet to hand over the body. >> i know my father's body is

not likely to return. his wish was to get the land back and punish corrupt officials. he sacrificed himself, and we will, too. >> in a country where dissent is really tolerated, people here believe there is safety in numbers. >> villagers are calling for the overthrow of corrupt officials. they also want to see safeguards for their lands. the own -- they feel that the only way to protect themselves is to unite and speak out. >> but tonight -- at night, many fear reprisals. five men have already been snatched, most likely by undercover policeman. we joined the locals as they went out on patrol. >> we volunteered day and night to prevent people being taken away. and where we see police we sound the alarm and alert everyone.

we fight them off as a group and protect our romance. >> people here aren't guard -- protect our own lands. >> people here are on guard, a government crackdown could come at any time. bbc news, southern china. >> is there a resolution in sight to this ongoing conflict? >> certainly not at the moment. in the village, they are preparing for the burial of the villager who died in police custody. yesterday, i saw them putting up a funeral pant. and i spoke to the daughter. she said they have yet to receive the body. she says it is likely the authorities will cremate her father, and the reason she believes the authorities will do that is because he died in custody after being beaten up by the authorities. that is something denied by authorities, but certainly,

today, he will -- but today is going to be a very charged today. a lot of high emotion. and there is no resolution in sight. the villagers are deeply angry that one of the rhone, the very man who was trying to mediate -- one of their own, the very man who was trying to mediate with authorities to resolve this dispute, died in custody. >> thank you so much for that update. after 89 years of -- nearly nine years of war, the american flag has been lowered in baghdad, marking the end of military operations in iraq. the u.s. flag had to be dropped after iraq would not agree to america's terms. our correspondent who covered the war in iraq reports now from baghdad. >> a kowt -- a quiet, downbeat ceremony marks the end of an occupation, which lasted 100

months, cost the lives of 4500 americans, and of an unknown, but for greater number of iraqis. -- far greater number of iraqis. >> this is a time for iraq to look forward. this is an opportunity for iraq to forge ahead on the path to security and prosperity. >> welcome to satyr city, a sprawling, working-class shiite suburb of baghdad. the occupiers are going, one says, thanks to our government. here.hings have changed you >> the last time i was here i was pretty nervous. kidnappings and bombings just about every day. now you can see for yourself just how relaxed everything is. >> but not everything is necessarily better.

there are power cuts every day here and everywhere in iraq. the americans never managed to fix the electricity supply. in sadr city, the u.s. army engineers put in the first decent stores and water supplies, but that has all been forgotten. -- sewers and water supplies, but that has all been forgotten. instead, they just remember the attacks. this man keeps pictures on his mobile phone. these are pictures on the internet and that is american laughter. the meat market, as everywhere else here, he will not find any love for the united states. the butchers of baghdad are happy to see the backs of the american spirit >> -- of the americans. >> they brought poverty and killed our children. >> according to this man, they destroyed our country.

this man, a seller of sheepsheads, even things things were better under saddam hussein. and yet, the united states has done a really good job of training security forces here. these checkpoints are everywhere and they are the front-line of the continuing civil war. there are attacks on them every day. the worst 79 bomb attacks last month, this one targeted the prime minister. at the still, in 2007, there were 1000 bombs a month. the suffering does not stop, but the insurgency is visibly winding down. for 40 years, not just the eight of the american occupation, iraq has known little more than dictatorship, war, and isolation. now, though, the people here are daring to hope that their luck may finally be changing. >> the head of france's central

bank suggested that if his country loses its credit rating, britain should as well. you have more details. >> yes, i have. he says the united kingdom has a bigger deficit and weaker growth. the loss of the top credit rating would have serious economic implications for france. it would increase the interest rate it would have to pay for new state arwin. >> there -- a state borrowing. >> there is clearly no love lost between britain and france. nicolas sarkozy is not the only one still smarting from david cameron's rejection. when the bank of france heard that his country could face down gray, he said that if there is any talk of downgrading, britain should be first in line because, he said, it has a bigger deficit, more inflation, and slower growth.

europe is at the core of the financial crisis. all of the member states except britain have agreed to consider the new treaty. but it has not even been drafted yet. and what our two countries are reportedly having second thoughts. -- one or two countries are reportedly having second thoughts. nokhristine the guard said they will face isolation and said the economy will get worse. >> and there is no other economy in the world and that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding, but escalating to the point where everybody would actually have to focus on what it can do. >> in europe, politicians hope to agree the details of a new treaty by february of 2012.

britain has been told that is represent -- its representatives will be able to hold talks, which gives david cameron a chance to see where europe is up to. and credit the european -- >> the european fascist extremist known as the jackal has been convicted and sentenced. the venezuelan national is already serving a life sentence for a triple murder in 1975. britain's opposition labour party has held a seat in a by- election that had the lowest voter turnout in a decade. they were electing a successor to alan king, the labor mp who died last month. the winner got almost 54% of the vote. russia has surprised western nations at the u.n. by circulating its own draft u.n. resolution aimed at resolving

the crisis in syria. western countries have spent months trying to get their own resolution approved, but have faced european veto. the russian draft indicates an equivalence between the regime and the opposition. barbara platted is at the u.n. headquarters in new york and says the supporters are backing the plan of the arab league. >> the russians are very big on the arab league initiatives because they see it as the only possibility of a political settlement. i do not know how likely they or anyone else believes it can succeed, but they do believe it is a serious plan for both sides to have political talks in syria. russians do not want to see regime change. they are very opposed to anything that might lead to regime change. that is why they have opposed sanctions. when it comes to the arab league plan, they said that the decision to impose sanctions, that was counterproductive, they

said. they're also quite worried what would happen if the regime collapsed. that is why he is focusing in on the arab league initiative. it has to be said that western nations are also backing initiatives here. but few believe it will succeed. some of them may not want it to succeed. if bashar al-assad goes, then you get rid of the regime that is anti-american, hostile to it is real. you could perhaps cut the ties between syria and iran. and you have a number of western nations advocating a policy of regime change. there broadly supporting it because they see it as a necessary to convince the arabs

that assad should go. russia feels that their way is the only way for the regime to survive. >> still to come, a report from india where more and more young people are being sucked into the country's spiralling black economy. and making pop history, the south korean group 21 become the first asian artists to scrape mtv's band of the year. one of the two men at years of killing the london teenager, steven lawrence, -- accused of killing the london teenager, steven lawrence, has said he was innocent. he also insisted he was not in the area in southeast london on the night of the attack. both men denied the murder. >> it david norris is now 35 years old. today, he entered the witness

box to be questioned about a murder that just -- that happened when he was just 16. mr. norris was asked repeatedly by the barrister where he was the night stephen was killed in the london suburb of elkton. each time he said he could not remember, but he said he was sure he was not in elton. i am an innocent man, he insisted. he was asked again where he was at the time of the murder. he said, you are accusing me of murder, sir. i am an innocent man. clothing fibers found on this sweatshirt seized from mr. norris's house allegedly linking to the scene of the crime. but the defendant's brother testified today that the shirt had been his 18 years ago, and possibly the denim jeans as well which a hair of the victim was found.

the prosecutor told the defendant's mother that she was making up her story. she said she was not making it up. despite his questioning, she maintains her positioning. he had been at home that night. today's witnesses mark the end of the evidence in the steven lawrence murder trial. the case will now be summarized for the jury before they consider their verdict. >> i am in singapore. >> i am in london. these are the headlines. >> the chinese communist party have lost control of a village in the south of the com-country. thousands are standing firm in the ongoing protest against

corruption. >> the end of nine years of military operations in iraq. all american troops are to leave within days. she was a young woman raped by a let -- by a relative and then she was jailed for so-called forced adultery. she had been raising the daughter she had by her attacker in a kabul prison. the case raised international outcry. after spending time in jail she had been freed, but is now facing pressure to marry her attacker. >> face in an uncertain future, her daughter was conceived when her mother was raped. she served a 12-year sentence for the crime of being raped. until this week, both mother and baby were here in the prison,

where many of the women are serving sentences for what the justice system in afghanistan terms "moral crimes," or adultery. there was pressure on the afghan government -- government to pardon this woman. >> i do not want to have a thing to do with the government again because they put innocent people in jail. what kind of afghanistan is this? what kind of government is this? my attacker committed a crime and they arrested me. the first court gave me two years in prison, but on appeal, the second quarter gave me 12 years. -- the second to court gave me 12 years. >> for decades, the taliban was toppled from power here. human rights groups say hundreds of women in afghan jails are the victims of race or domestic violence.

>> women here, unfortunately, are treated as second-class citizens. they are quite often mistreated. they're quite often not only mistreated in the community, but frankly, somewhat miffed -- mistreated within the justice system. this case is i could and legs -- is a good illustration of that. >> the question is what happens next. the relative who raped her is still in prison, but she is willing to marry him if it preserves her family's honor. >> i will marry him if his family will find a wife or my brother and paid dowry for me. there is no other way. if our families cannot agree with each other, they will become enemies. >> she said the prosecutor told her if she went home her brothers would kill her because of the shame she has brought on them. she insists they are good men and would not hurt her.

but whether they will take her back, it is not yet clear. for now, they have few other options. economy looking at the and young people around the world. you have one story from india for us. >> that is right. india's biggest employer. according to some estimates, more than 90% of those employed it belonged to the organized sector. here is one young man who tells us about his day-to-day experiences. >> i am 25 years old and for the last two years i have been working here. i studied in school until the age of 11. but then i dropped out to work on a farm. there was no one at home after

the death of my father. i had to work. but my wages were not enough i decided to come to mumbai and open up this t store. i am earning around 3000 rupees a day. i working with my brother and some other men from ivillage. my family, my mother, and their brother, my wife and two kids still lived in my village. i work until about 8:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. at night and i start before sunrise. some people are tired. they come here to have a cup of tea. and after my cup of tea they feel better.

i like it when people feel better after having my teeth. -- of tea. and i like working here, but sometimes i feel bad they. they are drunkard to come here sometimes. have had this business for a couple of years now. i have thought about something else after i save money. >> 8 pop band in -- a top career in pop band, 21, has been voted new band of the year by viewers in new york. they are popular in asia, but now it is spreading to the west. let's see them in action. ♪

>> thank you for joining us. so many screaming fans there. how big an honor is it that you have received this global recognition from an tv? >> how do i feel about it? it really was an honor. i was really honored and happy to be on the stage. i heard that madonna was on that beyonce was on that stage. >> your group, 21, is just two

years old. what would you attribute to the -- to your phenomenal success? >> we are not there yet. i have big dreams. >> what does it take for you and to regroup -- you and your group to achieve this kind of success? do you have to go through a lot of training and development over the past two years? >> it has not only been just two years. it has been a long time of singing and dancing. it is amazing that

[unintelligible] >> you are getting a lot of radio play, particularly in germany, brazil, mexico. why you think that kpop is becoming so popular outside of asia? >> i think it is because exposure to other cultures is fine. -- fun. >> do you see yourself as a role model for asian women? >> yes. [unintelligible] >> un-thank you so much for joining us.

-- thank you so much for joining us. > >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and shell. -- and union bank. ♪

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.